My brothers I have very sad news!!! Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the gathering. My job is very demanding and I have been chosen to go on a special detail that will take three weeks. I want to apologize to all and looking forward to the next Gathering. Poi Dog and Dianhsuhe next time. My heart is with you all and a big WOOF!!! God bless.

Night Owl has commented to me that with the large number of fighters now at the Gatherings the day can get rather long and the audience really starts thinning out. Given the increase of knife play during the stickfights (either hidden knives being brought into play, or full on stick & knife fights) his idea is that knife will not be lost, but that the tempo of things will be picked up.

Just clarifying, the facebook post mentioned doing away with the knife fights altogether but the forum post here did not...?

"Night Owl has commented to me that with the large number of fighters now at the Gatherings the day can get rather long and the audience really starts thinning out that we should think about dropping the knife only fights altogether. Given the increase of knife play during the stickfights (either hidden knives being brought into play, or full on stick & knife fights) his idea is that knife will not be lost, but that the tempo of things will be picked up.

A belated good luck, have fun, and may your experience at this Gathering be transformational!

Very truly yours,

~sg

p.s. Get well soon C-Mighty Dog and very inspirational post! Great post Poi Dog about fighting the young'uns! Funny post Guide Dog!

Hope the cane and staff fights make it to dvd or youtube.

« Last Edit: September 17, 2011, 10:59:05 PM by Stickgrappler »

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"A good stickgrappler has good stick skills, good grappling, and good stickgrappling and can keep track of all three simultaneously. This is a good trick and can be quite effective." - Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny

I will say thank you to every dog brother for letting me compete today, for Matt, Clint and Ryan for honouring me, and for my Creator allowing me to do what we do.I am honoured.Pappy Dog and Dog Howie, I did my very best. You two make me so proud.To everyone else, and I dare not name a name, beause I'll be typing quite a while, thank you all for today. I am sincerely grateful you all came into my life and a huge So-Cal welcome to New Mexico, you were awesome. Every last one of you. Can't wait to see you again.DF

A WOOF to all the fighters yesterday. The fights were awesome, and it was a real pleasure to commune with all of you. A special thanks to Rick, Guide Dog and Poi Dog for the fights, Dog Terry for helping me prepare, and the Crafty Dog for continuing to plan the events. I can't thank you all enough for a truly transformative experience.

Great day today! THANK YOU for all the folks who stayed after the gathering to help get Gokor's place back in shape. We appreciate you! We'll post photos as soon as we have them from the photographer. If you want updates, sign up for our newsletter!

Thank you once again for a great Forum for us "less then normal" folk to get together and scare the neighborhood! It is also a pleasure to fight and meet so many great individuals. Until the Tribal! Woof!!!

Great day yesterday. Thanks to everyone there, a heartfelt 'Woof' to those who should have been there but weren't because Life has a nasty habit of getting in the way. Specific Mahalo to James, Tobias, Kaju, Doc Rick, and Darrien (sp?) for the fights yesterday, it is always an honor for me to cross sticks with such wonderful people. Steve, you and I are on deck for 1st fight next time!

Big Aloha to the New Mexico clan, an absolute pleasure to meet you, hopefully I'll be back in the Land of Enchantment soon, and we can cross sticks/train then. I know for a fact I'm missing some shouts to others, please forgive me, I've been hit in the head...a lot.

What an honor it was for me to step out with you folks at the Gathering. Almost 20 years of reading about the Dog Brothers and their "events" just made my first Gathering all the more powerful and inspirational. I was determined to meet as many of the warriors as I could and just soak it all in, and I believe I did!

The family atmosphere, the camaraderie, and the warrior spirit were EVERYWHERE yesterday. After attending 1 gathering I cannot fathom ever missing one from now on.

After my first stick fight (Dog Cchi'med) where he destroyed me I walked off to the side and someone said "So how was it?" and I just said, "that was f'ing AWESOME, oww". Then after the event some guy approached me to do an interview and as we were walking over to get that started I said did you pick me because all of the blood on my shirt or what? and he said nah you just have been making funny comments all day, so I said well what I lack in skill I make up for as a smart-ass and he just knodded. That was great-

Great day yesterday. Thanks to everyone there, a heartfelt 'Woof' to those who should have been there but weren't because Life has a nasty habit of getting in the way. Specific Mahalo to James, Tobias, Kaju, Doc Rick, and Darrien (sp?) for the fights yesterday, it is always an honor for me to cross sticks with such wonderful people. Steve, you and I are on deck for 1st fight next time!

Big Aloha to the New Mexico clan, an absolute pleasure to meet you, hopefully I'll be back in the Land of Enchantment soon, and we can cross sticks/train then. I know for a fact I'm missing some shouts to others, please forgive me, I've been hit in the head...a lot.

Poi Dog- It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday, you have good "ki" and I think that shows to everyone! Please save a place on your dance card for me at the next Gathering, since you were TOTALLY DODGING me yesterday! LOL JK!

Take care and I look forward to scoring some higher consciousness from you!Sincerily,gibbyA-Pos

I like the way you think, man. Thanks for the fight: I enjoyed it. Thanks also to Guro Crafty for hosting, and to my other opponents. The opportunity to step out and engage like this and still remain 'friends at the end of the day' is quite something.

I like the way you think, man. Thanks for the fight: I enjoyed it. Thanks also to Guro Crafty for hosting, and to my other opponents. The opportunity to step out and engage like this and still remain 'friends at the end of the day' is quite something.

-ck

Thanks for stepping out with me for my first stick fight ever Cchi'med! You are a true warrior, versed in all ranges as well as being humble, rare these days. You have my complete respect!gibby

I spent quite a while in the ER last night and after CAT scans and Xrays it was determined my brain was fine (well no worse than it was when I stepped on the mat) but my TMJ was broken and I needed half a dozen stitches inside my ear. I need to see an oral surgen to get my jaw wired when I get back to Boston. It was disapointing, but hey if I was afraid to get hurt I would play checkers!

I had a great day, huge thanks to all my bros who fought and of.course yourself and Pretty Kitty. Can't wait fpr next year (or maybe the tribal?) I probably won't be able to fight at Beat the Crap Out of Cancer, but I will be attending the one in Toronto.

I was glad to see my Boy Ryan made C-, he deserved it.

Again, my thanks!

Matt Berry

PS: I am home safe now. I saw a doc when I got back and I am going to the specialist tomorrow.Thanks again for the great time and I look forward to continuing being a part of this great organization.

Thank you for establishing an environment where we can come and test our skills. This was my first Gathering and have to say that it definitely was transformational. The energy from everyone was amazing. My cousin that was in the audience put it best, "Everyone has two personalities. The one they fight with, and the friendly one before and after the fight."

It was awesome to experiment with the two on two knife fight. I just remember time went so fast. On my other fights, I remember time would either speed up, or slow down at certain moments. I was certainly living the moment.

But their is a "feeling" that goes further than just that day. I personally feel in touch with "something". A keen awareness with the "moment". And as I write this, I remember and can identify the "feeling", the "something", the "moment"...It is "Higher Consciousness"....

Thank you for establishing an environment where we can come and test our skills. This was my first Gathering and have to say that it definitely was transformational. The energy from everyone was amazing. My cousin that was in the audience put it best, "Everyone has two personalities. The one they fight with, and the friendly one before and after the fight."

Thank you Guro.

Carlos Flores

I agree. Thank you Guro Crafty and Pretty Kitty for all that you do for us.

Carlos, I love what your brother said about the two personalities. So true.

I also thank Nathan for the double knife, Paul for stepping onto the mat for the first time, and my tie-dyed opponent (whose name I forget, much to my embarrassment) for the healthy bruises. Gints, good to see you back out there! Let's dance next time, yeah?

We would appreciate your emailing to info@dogbrothers.com your thoughts in 2-3 paragraphs about your experience and what it meant to you for use in our newsletter. Getting it in today would be greatly appreciated.